Spa Journal Entries

Maria Russo is a fortysomething mother of two who was recently laid off from her job and is trying to develop more varied nutritious cooking habits. She went to the Four Seasons Hotel Westlake Village and the California Health & Longevity Institute in the Los Angeles area.

Day 1Settled into my comfortable suite, I head down to Hampton's for dinner, which I eat looking out over a lawn featuring sculpture-like rocks from the Kwai River in Thailand and a pond with a tall waterfall. I start with a perfectly balanced Acquerello risotto with mushrooms, made from imported Italian organic rice and topped with mushroom foam and a few sprouts. My entrée, from the "Wellness" side of the menu, is an exhilarating seared Chilean sea bass surrounded with lively little flavors: glazed potato, tomato compote, a sesame and pine-nut sauce, a swirl of purple cauliflower puree, a lightly pickled cucumber. I stop by the open-plan kitchen and chat with the charming Belgian-born chef, Jelle Vandenbroucke. He explains his philosophy of using European techniques to make the most of California ingredients. He also tells me the secret to making foam at home: a touch of soy lecithin to keep it from collapsing.

Day 2At the resort's adjacent California Health & Longevity Institute: Five minutes in the Bod Pod, I learn that my body fat is in the "normal" range, about what I expected. Then to the Fitness Center, where fitness director Mike Brazeal gently probes me about my health history. It's great that I don't have a weight problem, but have I had my cholesterol checked lately? Well, no—but I will when I get home! He emphasizes that heart disease is the number-one killer of women, and my family history means I need more cardio along with my regular yoga. He also shows me a few basic strengthening moves to do at home.After Yogalates class (yes, it's a combination of yoga and Pilates), it's on to the Wellness Kitchen for a lunchtime Eating Well for Antiaging cooking class. Our instructor, Erika Wong, explains that a plant-based diet lowers disease rates and can extend one's life by ten years. As we work, we wander out to the garden to pick herbs and chat with Erika and prep chef Holly Reilly, who walk around doling out handy tips—the best way to chop a shallot, how to tell when barley is done. All very informative and inspiring, and the recipes turn out great.Later, a consult with Paulette Lambert, R.D., C.D.E., the Institute's director of nutrition, is a barrage of useful nutrition and life advice. File away: My daily intake of around 2,000 calories is fine now. But when menopause hits, my metabolism will slow, perhaps drastically, so I need to be ready to cut my calorie intake by a few hundred.

Time to be hypnotized! I put myself entirely in clinical hypnotherapist Barbara Savin's hands, explaining my goals: more discipline in my work, fewer pauses to pop chocolate-covered almonds. She has me imagine myself lying on a beautiful beach... After that, my recollection is fuzzy. But I leave her office in a pleasant haze.

Dinner at Onyx later makes it seem easy to eat healthfully, with an incredible small plate of marinated black cod, excellent sashimi, a five-seaweed salad, and soft-shell crab on a bed of greens. Loved the few bites I could manage of the berry crème brûlée and green tea ice cream.

Day 3I blow through a tube with my nose plugged for 15 minutes. My metabolism measures slightly on the fast side of "normal." Based on this and other factors, it means I can consume 2,132 calories a day, assuming a moderate exercise schedule. Laurie Streff, the instructor who conducts the test, explains that it's a misconception that exercising for weight loss allows you to eat more. The average workout burns 200 or so calories; exercise is crucial to good health, but weight is more of a food issue. Then it's on to the spa. Ahhhh. Whirlpool bath, steam, sauna, and a nice deep Thai massage. I could lie on the indoor couches looking out at the serenity pool for hours, but I'm starving and you can order food poolside, so I step outside and have a turkey-bacon Cobb salad while I watch the Saturday scene there, mostly couples and groups of girlfriends lounging and gliding in and out of the water.Two lifestyle workshops have me feeling as if I somehow had years of therapy in one afternoon: Manage Your Energy, with Petra Beumer, looks at how I'm balancing everything I need to do in my life—not too well at this point! Her suggestions include scheduling on Sunday how I'll use my six or so daily hours without my kids each day for that week, and one lunch out a month with a friend (why didn't I think of that?). Transform Your Habits, Transform Your Life takes a more close-up view of my blockages. Claudia Dunn helps me chart out a minute-by-minute plan to get right to work during my allotted work hours, instead of Web surfing for an hour. She also helps me see how my long-term goals fit into my value system. Writing, for me, can be an act of generosity, just as parenting is.

Dinner is another Wellness Kitchen class—Secrets of Grilling—and our group features two birthdays and a jolly mood. With Holly Reilly and Anna Moss, the leader this time, cheerfully guiding things, I'm feeling a new confidence in the kitchen. Holly pours a tablespoon of olive oil onto a plate so that we can see what it looks like. "That's 120 calories," she says. I'm still astounded that most of the dishes we make use less than two tablespoons of olive oil and are no less rich for it. My favorite is the Grilled Grass-Fed Beef with Spicy Hoisin Sauce and Cucumber Relish, but the Chili-Lime Glazed Shrimp are addictive, too. "Half of your plates are vegetables!" Anna reminds us as we eat.

Over a dessert of grilled peaches and ice cream, the gentleman next to me marvels at the scope of David Murdock's ambition for Westlake Village and the Institute. "There's really no place remotely like this. And it would never get built in today's economy!" Indeed.

Day 4After a relaxing facial and a final stroll around the grounds, it's time to check out. My head reels at everything I've done here, and I've just scraped the surface. I leave dreaming of scheduling a dental exam at the Institute, with lunch and a massage at the spa afterward—maybe as a reward for myself when I finish my book.

Mollie Chen, 26, needed a break from her fast-paced urban lifestyle. Always racing to the newest restaurant and cocktail party, Mollie needed a place to detox and relax—but wanted to make sure it had great food. She went to the new Canyon Ranch Hotel & Spa in Miami Beach.

ThursdayI arrive at Canyon Ranch at around one in the afternoon. I'm feeling sufficiently "toxed" because I oversnacked on the flight and was out late at my favorite midtown dive bar. My tenth-floor Miami beachfront room has great views, but I'm off to the pool, where tanned pool boys set up my lounge chair with an oversize towel and neck pillow. I could get used to this. For lunch: hibiscus iced tea and a Greek salad with grilled shrimp. I meet with a nurse who weighs me; a life coach who listens to my tales of my ongoing quarter-life crisis; and Dr. Karen Koffler, the medical director, who says to cut sugar and get more sleep.

We go over my weekend goals—de-stress, gain focus, recharge—and she suggests some classes, including meditation and kundalini yoga. "Don't be seduced by the rock climbing and the hard-core stuff," she says. I still fit in two exercise classes at the gym before my 8:00 p.m. sole reflexology session. I lie on a padded massage table that vibrates in sync with music being piped in through my headphones.

FridayAt 7:30 a.m., I take the first of four saliva samples that will be used to test my levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Next, a meditation lesson from a lanky guy named Sadhu in an open-air studio. I leave feeling light and quiet and go to the restaurant, where I have thick Greek yogurt with perfect blueberries and blackberries at an outdoor table facing the ocean.

After getting my blood drawn for testing, I try out the rock-climbing wall with an older woman from Portland visiting with her daughter. I love the puzzle aspects of climbing (sorry, Dr. Koffler!)—figuring out which hand and toeholds to take. Then I tell a personal trainer my exercise regimen—every day, either yoga, spinning, or weight training. Since I know that I eat out more than the average person, I ask him for ways to increase my calorie burning. Later, I join a weight circuit class that consists of myself and a charming elderly Swedish couple. I hope that I am that spry when I am in my 70s.Lunchtime! My server gives me fantastic recommendations, including mango soda made with fresh puree and club soda and a huge Cobb salad with seared salmon. That afternoon, I have an energy healing session: I lie back while a therapist hovers his hands above my torso and talks to me about where and what sort of stress I am feeling. It's an interesting experience, but it's not for me: a little too New Agey.

After "experience" showers (sounds and lights mimic monsoons or tropical storms) and an icy igloo mist that smells like eucalyptus, I have a massage. At dinner, I settle in at the counter facing the open kitchen—my favorite spot in any restaurant. The chefs are putting on a good show, with flames whooshing high into the air and lots of flashing knives. My avocado tartare is almost too pretty to eat, with layers of tomatoes, onions, and buttery avocado topped with microgreens. I have a bracing watermelon soup flecked with mango and toasted cumin seeds. The best, though, is the huge, flash-seared scallops that arrive on a lush pile of creamy leeks, corn, and asparagus.

SaturdaySlow sunrise yoga in the Ocean Studio to start the day, then a breakfast of muesli, then a quick dip in the fifth-floor spa pool before Kinesis movement class. Kinesis: a form of weight training using a wall that's set up with resistance wires and pulleys. Much harder than it looks. It's just me and a trophy-wife type (I am even more envious of her abs after I find out she has two kids), so we can't slack off. Next I try Budokon, which everyone has told me is both fun and rigorous. It's a combination of yoga and martial arts, and I find my arms trembling halfway through the series of rolling vinyasas. Next, a nutrition consult—in which my counselor is concerned about the lack of protein and my constant sugar cravings. She suggests that, since I always go to the gym in the morning, I eat both as soon as I get up and right after working out. She also suggests mixing up my usual proteins—sardines and mackerel instead of tuna; almond or cashew butter instead of peanut butter—and easing off sugar. And she gently reminds me that red wine has fewer calories than liquor, and is more healthful. (But there are so many good cocktail bars in New York!)

Now it's time for my Balancing Facial Veil, which is based on ayurvedic practices and includes shirodhara, the ritual dripping of oil on the "third eye." My therapist tells me I have vata dosha—that is, lots of energy, and lots of frustration. "You walked in fast; you got up fast; you can't stop moving," she says. Dinner is grilled octopus, fresh mango salad with Maldon sea salt, and snickerdoodle cookies (whoops), and then I catch up on some e-mails. The fact that the computer plugs are not convenient to the couch or bed indicates that you are not supposed to be doing much work here; not a problem, as I pass out at 10:00 p.m.

SundayI wake up feeling sore. In a very uncharacteristic move, I opt for the sunrise beach walk instead of spinning. For breakfast, a sprouted hemp bagel with smoked salmon, cream cheese, and super-ripe tomatoes from the take-out café. I see my life coach, who comments on how much more "present" I seem. We discuss strategies to stay balanced and happy at home. He suggests small things like walking, cooking, being still—and also just giving myself a break sometimes.Next, I go over my tests with Dr. Koffler. She is concerned about my elevated inflammation levels and thinks it might be a food allergy (oh no!), but otherwise I'm generally healthy. My cholesterol is slightly high but it's mostly because my HDL, or good kind, is above average; my LDL (bad) is low. My other tests (the cortisol levels and heart rate variability) won't be ready for a couple of weeks, so we'll have to follow up on the phone. As I am leaving I mention that I feel really indulgent doing all this soul-searching at such a young age. She brushes it off and says that it's great to do this in such a tumultuous time, making good healthy changes. I have just enough time to lie on a lounge chair on the beach before I have to leave. I'm so relaxed that I fall asleep.

Dana Dickey was simply exhausted. While she thought her recent job change, 3,000-mile move, and keeping up with her toddler son might be factors, the fortyish Dickey wanted to learn how exercise and diet could help her feel energized. She attended a weekend seminar at the Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, with a guest lecturer whose life's work is healing what he terms "the walking wounded."

FridayAbout a dozen of us—haggard-yet-hopeful folk from Massachusetts, New York, California, and Texas—are sitting in a wide circle on meditation cushions. We're telling Dr. Frank Lipman why we have come to a seminar related to his book Revive: Stop Feeling Spent and Start Living Again."I need a nap to get through the day," I tell him.

"I'm not having any fun," someone else says.

"I've been carrying around extra weight for ten years," a woman chimes in.

The assembled group sure isn't as glamorous as the celebs on Frank's Web site: No Donna Karan. No Kyra Sedgwick or Kevin Bacon. No Gwyneth Paltrow. But we're all sincere. We start with a five-minute meditation guided by Jodi Stuart, who'll be leading us through yoga and movement breaks during the weekend.

Then Frank launches into his slide show, in which he explains that from his clinic in New York, he's practicing "wellness medicine," a combo of Western, Chinese, and other forms of medicine that teach diet modification and lifestyle changes with an overall goal of wellness. Frank tells us our behavior—our levels of exercise, what we eat, how we sleep, our emotional balance—impacts our wellness. He uses a brake pad metaphor—your brakes don't fail all at once, he tells us, they wear down continually until they quit completely. They are like our bodies: They malfunction for years before a blood test or acute pain exposes a disease.

Having expected this seminar to just be a sort of pep talk about getting eight hours of sleep a night and drinking a lot of water, I'm stunned. This stuff is complicated. And I might have to make some serious lifestyle changes to feel better. After this bad news, I am glad when Jodi gives us a bolster to lie back on and tells us to assume a restorative yoga pose to release our hip joints.

Frank promises to give us more details tomorrow. I am in a trance as we sit in the soaring dining hall, eating orange chicken—oops, seitan—over brown rice, along with a big salad of Kripalu house dressing—tahini, cayenne, and nine other ingredients. I consider going to my room in the new annex—imagine a really chic modernist women's prison—but there is no TV, so I can't get my much-needed distraction that way. At the gift shop, a cashier behind the counter laughs in my face when I ask if I can charge something to my room. I guess Kripalu isn't that kind of place.

SaturdayThe breeze blowing through the Berkshire mountain air makes me famished. I get up and take a 6:30 a.m. yoga class—it's slower and more thoughtful than the fast-paced yoga I'm used to—then grab a quiet bite in the cafeteria (breakfasts usually are silent at Kripalu). I trot up to the classroom for Frank's next lesson. Today, it seems, we're going to learn why we shouldn't eat certain things.

I. Sugar

According to Frank, eating sugar chemically alters the proteins in the body, a process called glycosylation. The resulting products collect in various parts of the body and inhibit proper functioning and can cause premature aging. He cautions us that foods marketed as "low-fat" are often full of sugar, and that when we read labels and see four grams of sugar, it equals one teaspoon.

II. Gluten

He says that at least two-thirds of his patients feel better when they're off of it: wheat, barley, etc. Extreme gluten sensitivity is called celiac disease.

It is believed that most people don't have a liver enzyme that helps break down the gliadin protein, and, he says, a leaky gut can cause undigested protein to trigger an immune reaction. Frank cheerily suggests, "Maybe it's just genetically modified gluten that is a problem—however, almost all soy, corn, and wheat in the U.S.A. are genetically modified."

III. Dairy

Frank tells us that many of his patients have difficulty digesting casein protein.

IV. Factory-Farmed Meats

"We've been brainwashed by many industries to feel we must have certain foods, like dairy," Frank says. He adds that sugar and factory-farmed meats are harmful to people's health, and that cow's dairy causes problems for many people. He tells us to check out drfranklipman.com, his Web site that has a link about The Meatrix, an award-winning animated video about factory farming.

V. Fish with Toxins

More and more bad chemicals and toxins are being found in factory-farmed fish now, too, Frank says. He tells us to check out ewg.org for a list of low-mercury fish, and he recommends the canned wild salmon at Trader Joe's.

VI. Soy and Corn

Soy allergens are fairly common, he says, and adds that there is a problem with people with underactive thyroids eating soy. Unfortunately, Frank says, most soy and corn in this country are genetically modified—and don't have to be labeled as such. The impact won't be known for decades.

VIII. Caffeine and Alcohol

Caffeine has a half-life of seven hours for some people—in others much shorter—and for those who have a long half-life, it can affect their sleep; caffeine increases cortisol (stress hormone) levels. Alcohol has lots of sugar and affects sleep cycles.

I thank my stars that Frank is so upbeat and that his South African accent is so pleasant; otherwise, his unpleasant message would have caused me to run screaming from the room. But still, I'm relieved when Jodi takes over, puts on some Suzanne Vega, and leads us in stretches for half an hour. We push our feet on tennis balls, we lie on mats and push our buttocks on tennis balls, and we roll our hips over large foam rollers.

We're loosening the fascia, Frank tells us, as he explains how it surrounds the body organs and is one large interconnected system connecting you from head to toe. It seems integrins, receptor proteins found in the plasma membrane of cells, give the cells critical signals that promote cell growth, survival, and reproduction, he says. He goes on to explain that acupuncture and deep tissue work help repair integrins and thus help improve cellular function. Frank says he was "really blown away" when a study done a few years before proved this. "It is scientific proof of the worth of those modalities often pooh-poohed by Western medicine as 'feel good' therapies," he says.

SundayAfter a short session in the morning, we're done with our work. I run down the hill to catch a quick pre-lunch yoga class.

Then I eat.

Then, a reward: I have marma energy work, which feels as if the therapist is putting pins in my extremities, as in acupuncture. I feel so much heat and energy coursing through my limbs that the arm where she started becomes flooded with heat after five minutes, lots of oil on my feet and legs and everywhere. I drift off to sleep on the table.

MondayIn the morning, I attend nutritionist John Bagnulo's lecture on the top 30 healing foods. These are nutrient-rich foods that can help improve most of our diets. Bagnulo tells us the American diet has trended toward increased consumption of sweeteners, refined vegetable oils, dairy products, and refined grains. The healing foods he recommends include pomegranate, apples, almonds, avocado, cilantro, collard greens, figs, grapefruit, ginger, sardines, quinoa, onions, buckwheat, papaya, rosemary, blueberries, turmeric, and oysters.

Later I meet with Kathie Madonna Swift, M.S., R.D., a staff dietitian, who peppers me with questions about my diet, habits, and energy level. I leave Kripalu with her suggestions for new eating habits (protein in the morning; seltzer with pomegranate instead of a Diet Coke!) and for supplements to take (a multivitamin, vitamin D, and fish oil). I'm going home a wiser woman, ready to live a better life, one healing food at a time.